The initial selection of the the Apple Music Store is not yet close to what I'm really looking for, but I've already found some gems. Besides - what I don't mind doing is tracking down the obscure(ish) disks in my collection. I just don't see myself buying a Kid Rock CD in my life (no matter how much I love (really!) American Bad Ass and Cowboy). Apple's store delivers on that without my having to deal with slow, arcane, annoying clients, shoddy network connections, etc.
Many articles about Apple's new music service state the fact that it won't stop people from stealing music any time soon. So what? I'm seeing a service that casual listeners and computer users will use. Many of the articles seem to keep that geek spin about technology. Apple's service, especially as it spreads to Windows (and, if rumors/talks hold true, AOL), will become a "Napster for the rest of us," combining the good aspects of Napster with a MUCH better interface and many of the other high points Jobs brought up (ensured quality, relatively free rights - certainly nothing that get in the way of most non-geek use, etc). It will be interesting to see if or when smaller labels come on board. I noticed that my favorite Dolly Parton and Rodney Crowell releases, which were all recent, were conspicuously absent from the list. But then I remember they're now on Sugar Hill Records (which has a collection of early Willie Nelson demo sessions out now too). In any case, I like Apple's new service. I see good potential. And again - it's something I could see my Dad using. He's a music lover who painfully constructs playlists for his multi-cd player. I bet he would enjoy iTunes and the ability to index and burn his own CD's from the vast amount of material he already owns.
As for me, while looking for other versions of Jobim's One Note Samba (Stereolab and Herbie Mann did a great recording of it as One Note Samba/Surfboard), I found Sergio Mendes and Brazil '66. They had One Note Samba / Spanish Flea. Wonderful as that is, I was very excited to find Bim Bom, Wave, and Look of Love. While AudioGalaxy was still alive I found these tracks attributed to Japanese supergroup Pizzicato Five, with Look of Love being titled "No Not That One!". I've held on to them, as they're spectacular songs. I even have the piano man at my primary bar sing Wave for me. So - to find the original sources and get GOOD copies of all three tracks (and One Note Samba / Spanish Flea and Cinnamon and Clove) was worth the five bucks it cost.
The DRM that's in the purchased tracks is interesting. I'm really hoping that the computer doesn't have to connect to the internet every time one wants to listen to a downloaded song to check to see if it's on an authorized machine. I wonder how it all works.
Bill Bumgarner has already decoded a lot of how the application works. Others have figured out the XML interface used. All in all, this makes iTunes 4 an interesting application. Application specific embedding of HTML/XML has long been Microsoft's wet dream and shows up almost too much in their interface. Apple does a smooth job of it and uses native widgets (column / table) when appropriate and mixes in internet media when appropriate to give a pretty smooth interface. All very interesting.